This gorgeous gal is my 2013 Senior Model from J.J. Pearce High School – lucky me!  Sarah is so sweet – I remember back at her model shoot last year she seemed genuinely shocked at how drop-dead beautiful her images were.  Love that humble heart!  We went with a more urban look for her senior portrait session, and I LOVE how everything came together.  This girl has a KILLER sense of style, and her choices were absolutely perfect for our location.  The image of her laying down in the leaves just below also won Senior Style Guide’s Senior Stunner contest and will be published in print in the next issue!  Yay Sarah!  This just goes to show, when your photographer asks you to lay down on a busy city sidewalk and throws leaves on you, it IS best to just trust her.   Sarah is a varsity cheerleader and is also involved in Young Life. Sarah, thank you so much for trusting me with your senior portraits this year, I enjoyed every minute of having you in front of my camera, and hanging out behind it!

Getting to actually shoot Lauren’s session was a huge relief – after scheduling conflicts and then a rain-out weekend, we finally got together on an absolutely beautiful November day, and it was well worth the wait!  Planning Lauren’s session was so much fun.  Since she is SO laid back and was really up for anything, I kind of got to take some ideas and run with them. Lauren and her mom did a great job picking out her outfits (um, hello turquoise heels!) and we had a fabulous time hitting some of my favorite spots all over McKinney.  It was wonderful having my super-talented makeup artist Amanda on hand during the shoot as well – not only can it be really helpful to have a makeup artist with us, but who doesn’t want their own entourage, right?!?  Lauren was a little shy and quiet in our previous meetings, so it was extra fun to see her really come out of her shell once we started shooting.  And she has the most gorgeous hair, it seriously looked perfect from start to finish.  Thank you so much for letting me hang with you Lauren, it was an absolute blast!

Alicia is one of my 2013 Senior Models, and I’m SO lucky that I’ve had the opportunity to spend an extended amount of time with her.  By the time we got to her actual senior portrait session, I knew I would be in for a treat!  Alicia is not only gorgeous but she has such a fun personality and a silly sense of humor, I just love hanging with this girl.  Unless of course we are at her house, one of her cats likes to mess with me – climbing in my sample bag, playing with my iPad, jumping into chairs and scaring the daylights out of me – he is ridiculous. She brought some awesome outfits that were a perfect fit for our country/outdoorsy location, and we had a beautiful (although windy) day to work with too.  Luckily makeup artist Donna did a wonderful job on her hair and makeup and she looked fabulous from start to finish.  Alicia’s beautiful black and white image below was even an Honorable Mention in Senior Style Guide’s Senior Stunner Contest!  Alicia is a swimmer at Plano Senior High and also a member of NCL and an avid volunteer, so she certainly stays busy!  Thank you so much Alicia for being a part of the LHP Model team this year, it’s been an absolute pleasure working with you!

I had SO much fun planning and shooting this session for lovely Lena, who also happens to be my first senior from Lake Highlands!  Lena booked my Exclusively {YOU} Session, which meant  that I got to bring in the fabulous Vanessa of Butterfly Sparks for concept and set design and we had super-talented makeup artist Amanda on hand both before and during the shoot.  Lena has a very simple, classy style but also loves the natural outdoorsy feel to many of my images.  She didn’t want the styled portion of the session to be prop-heavy either, so Vanessa and I got to work brainstorming some ways to bring Lena’s style and personality to life.  Vanessa came back with some great ideas to incorporate touches of glamour and fashion into a very natural organic setting.  We were able to use pieces of her wardrobe and outfits to really hone in on the style so we could keep the props light – a gorgeous Navajo blanket paired with that killer fur vest and a bold jewel-toned top to go with our gold painted branches.  I could not have been more happy with the final result of our sets, and the fact that Lena has such classic beauty certainly didn’t hurt.  After the styled portion of the shoot, we headed over to another area of the park for some more traditional portraits.  We really could not have asked for a more beautiful fall day, and I know Lena was a little nervous about the session, but she was an amazing model and a complete natural in front of the camera.  Lena also plays club soccer like I did  growing up, so we had a lot to talk and laugh about.  These big collaborations are always a lot of work, but I LOVE the fact that I get to think outside of the box and stretch myself creatively.  Lena’s beautiful image below was even an Honorable Mention in Senior Style Guide’s Senior Stunner Contest!  Thanks Lena for giving me the opportunity to help create something awesome for you, I’m so glad that you are as happy with your images as I am!

Savannah is another one of my NCL Richardson girls and I’m SO glad that I got to shoot her full senior portrait session as well!  We were initially scheduled in September, but after getting rained out we rescheduled for the end of October.  It ended up working out PERFECTLY – I got to shoot her beautiful auburn red hair among the lovely fall colors.  I was in heaven!  :)  Savannah is so relaxed and laid back, she was so easy to work with and a natural in front of the camera.  Makeup artist Amanda did a fabulous job on her hair and makeup too!  We ended up shooting on a beautiful day, and the slight chill in the air still didn’t keep Savannah from getting down in the creek for me.  Of course, she is a swimmer, so I should have expected nothing less.  She did a fabulous job with her outfits as well, just the perfect pops of color and awesome textures for a beautiful fall backdrop.  And you know I love the cowboy boots – Savannah is on the country western dance team for her school so they fit perfectly.  Thank you Savannah for hanging in there with me through the schedule changes, it was totally worth it!  

It is always such an honor when I get to photograph multiple siblings in one family, I always say that the best compliment a family can give me is to allow me to work with them again!  I photographed Kathleen’s older sister Molly a couple of years ago, and I was thrilled to work with this sweet family a second time.  Just like my own family this one consists of 4 girls – sisters are just the best.  Anyways, as expected, Kathleen is just as lovely and sweet as her big sister.  She wanted to shoot at the same location but still wanted a good variety in her images.  Luckily downtown McKinney is ripe with awesome spaces to shoot in so it was not a problem.  Kathleen was a total natural in front of the camera, she really has a great variety in expressions and made my job super-easy.  I mean check out that smile below – perfect!  Thank you Kathleen for letting me be a small part of this exciting time, and hopefully I will have the pleasure of photographing #3 and #4 down the road!

When I read through Evelyn’s questionnaire, I honed in on the idea of her “bohemian” style (well, when she puts the effort in she said ), just crossing my fingers and hoping that’s the direction she would go.  If I were 18 again right now, my own style would be very bohemian and I just LOVE to shoot that look.  Sure enough, when I saw Evelyn’s outfits I about flipped!  Great textures, layers, loads of jewelry, and paired with that TO DIE FOR hair and gorgeous face – I was in heaven.  Evelyn is a girl after my own heart – athletic and creative, outgoing and a little reserved too – so we got along wonderfully.  Courtney our makeup artist did a fabulous job with her hair and makeup, and seriously, THAT HAIR.  LOVE.  Evelyn is not only a 4 year member of the varsity softball team, she is also a member of NCL (National Charity League).  We shot some images in her beautiful senior presentation dress as well, but I will save those for another post including all of the fabulous NCL Richardson girls that I photographed this year.  :)  Thanks Evelyn for a wonderful session, and good luck in your senior season this spring!

There are always at least a handful of clients each year that are just so excited and enthusiastic about working with me – it completely makes my year and is totally humbling.  Tara is one of those girls.  I should have known that she would become one of my biggest cheerleaders/instagrammers/tweeters from the first time we talked.  I was so excited when I was finally able to get her on the schedule – I just knew that this session would be so much fun.  We ended up shooting around the Arts District, and it was the perfect backdrop for Tara’s wardrobe and personality.  Of course, knowing how excited she was about the session, I was thrilled that SHE was thrilled with how her images came out.  And how could I mess these up honestly, she is a beautiful girl with a contagious smile.  :)  Tara is very involved in theater at Pearce, and my daughter was lucky enough to see her in the Little Mermaid this fall – she will vouch for how talented Tara is!  Thank you so much Tara for stepping in front of my camera and for sharing your experience with others, it truly means the world to me!

As has become typical of many of my senior clients, Grace is not only beautiful, but she is extremely talented as well!  Grace is a musician and songwriter and will be putting out an album this year.  I was so excited about this session after speaking to her mom this summer – I knew that a joint senior/album shoot was sure to be epic, and it did not disappoint.  :)  Our makeup artist Courtney came along with us for this session, and it was so much fun to have her change up the look for different outfits and touch up her hair and makeup along the way.   As you can see, we shot until the sun went down and then some, ending the night by capturing one of my favorite all-time images – her silhouette shot with her guitar.  Would it be weird to hang it in my house? Not only is Grace gorgeous and talented, she is SO sweet and kind-hearted.  I’m so grateful that we had the opportunity to work together Grace and Crystal, and I can’t wait to see what awesome things are waiting just over the horizon!

This was the second time I’ve had the pleasure of photographing Sarah-Kate, so I knew her session would be so much fun.  Her whole family is just plain awesome, they always keep me laughing.  I mean who else do you know that keeps a life-size cut-out of Edward Cullen around their house to frighten guests?  Well, maybe that’s not all he’s for, but those were certainly the best stories.  Sarah-Kate is not only absolutely gorgeous, but she has such a laid back, all-around happy personality.  Not only did we get some great smiling and laughing shots, but this girl has a killer serious face.  I mean, look at those eyes!  Sarah-Kate has a great sense of style too – anyone who can pair pearls and cowboy boots gets an A+ in my book.  Sarah-Kate is a cheerleader and is also involved with her church youth group.  I can’t wait to see what awesome things are in store for her!  Thanks for letting me photograph you {again} during this very important year, Sarah-Kate!